


Ousted

by mneiai



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Flashbacks, M/M, attempted coup, the fall of Overwatch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 10:57:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7312246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mneiai/pseuds/mneiai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack had never become Strike Commander for power and he wasn't about to risk the world for more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ousted

Jack’s mission was haphazard--he was an old dog performing the same tricks he always had, not knowing how to move on. He accepted this, worked within the confines of the heroism he could never escape, no matter how much cynicism he tried to pile on top of it.

So it was only natural for him to begin tracking the other vigilantes and mercenaries springing up around the world, attempting to fit together a broader picture. There was Talon, but then there were others, ones he didn’t know enough about to fit easily into the category of ‘enemy’. People like Reaper, who he’d only seen footage of from the attempted museum heist and blurry camera shots assembled by one of Winston’s bots, scouring every source for images matching his description.

From the start, there was something about him that unsettled Jack. Maybe it was simply his powers, morbid as they were, or the owl mask he wore, which had Jack flashing back to better days, despite the meaning. But eventually he had to admit that it was in the way Reaper moved, in the way he fought. Something familiar.

As a dead man, Jack knew he shouldn’t be surprised when others with gravestones out there were walking around, but he was. He’d done a number on Gabriel, who’d seem to take the worst of the blast. Jack had crawled away from the explosion, from the fall of Overwatch, not entirely surprised that Gabriel’s body was never recovered.

The longer he watched, the surer he was, until finally they were on the same battlefield and Jack had enough of a breather to observe in person. He left the fight before Reaper could see him in turn--Jack wasn't ready to face him, but more importantly, the remnants of Overwatch still needed a martyr to look up to. 

After, Reaper became a new obsession. Sometimes Jack wondered if this was how Gabriel had felt, towards the end: collecting every scrap of information to bring down the thing he'd grown to hate, to take back some semblance of control. But Gabriel had always been too interested in gossip for anyone's good, so probably not. This could be all a Jack thing, a Jack-as-Soldier: 76 thing. Silently hoping that some creature was his old friend, while at the same time hoping that Gabriel, at least, had died, had gotten some semblance of peace.

\---

There were so many things unknown about the explosion, the fall of Overwatch. It was mostly for the best. But sometimes Jack remembered that day and thought about how different his life could have been, if he'd done what he had always done before and just given into what Gabriel wanted. 

 

\---

They wanted Jack's head. They were going to make him take the fall for everything that had happened, all the crimes and atrocities committed that could be traced back to Overwatch in any way. 

And he was going to let them. 

He was going to fight tooth and nail to protect everyone under him, to keep Overwatch afloat after he was gone, but he wasn't going to deny his part in what happened. He hadn't known about it, but he should have. It was his fault for not keeping a close enough watch on Blackwatch's operations, for believing in the inherent goodness of the people around him. 

That didn't mean he'd stop believing in everyone, though. There were still good people, ones who deserved his protection, the last little bit he’d be capable of giving them.

He was preparing his final remarks to the UN when he heard the door to his office open. He didn't bother looking up, just concentrated on the sound of the footsteps approaching, pretending to read.

"What do you want, Reyes?"

"What do you think you're doing?"

Jack did look, then, the tone of Gabriel's voice impossible to work out without the matching expression. Anger. Confusion. But the hints of jealousy that Jack had only started becoming aware of were missing.

"I'm working on my resignation," what an innocuous way to put it, really, when the only thing waiting for him was life imprisonment or execution. "Which you should know, since you probably have this entire place bugged." Anger worked its way into his own voice, the frustration and betrayal still weighing him down.

Gabriel sneered. "Giving up so easy?"

"There's nothing else to do! I've fought this as long as I can, but what you've done goes against every international standard on law enforcement in the books!" His chair scraped the floor as he stood, hands curling into fists on his desk. "Or were you hoping to see the rest of the ship going down with me? Without Overwatch, you're not suddenly going to get those shiny promotions you wanted so badly. You're only going to be better than me because I'll be dead."

Something flickered across Gabriel's face before he settled back on his heels, arms crossed--a defensive posture, but loose enough to make it faster to grab for one of his guns. "It's not Overwatch that's been overstepping, Morrison. You've been fighting their battles for the UN this whole time. Blackwatch has been doing all the dirty work they want done but couldn't ever sign off on. It's them that should be answering to the people. That should be answering to us."

Jack stared, breath quickening. He'd thought Gabriel was after Overwatch, that he'd decided if he couldn't command it then it shouldn't exist. He hadn't expected the coup to be...so encompassing. "That's not possible."

"Isn't it? Between the two of us we have dirt on everyone we'd need to control. Your reputation may have taken a hit, but that's easy to turn back on them. I've had people working on it, planting the right files, whispering in the right ears. All it will take is Jack Morrison, former UN darling, hinting that Blackwatch was secretly commissioned by those fools to get everything started." 

Steadying himself, Jack frantically thought of ways around Gabriel’s plans. He was backed into a corner--Overwatch, his Overwatch, the dream and the mission, would be destroyed either way. But he knew Reyes better than anyone, knew he was a dangerous enemy to make. If he really had been doing everything for ‘them’ this whole time, what would happen when he was actually out to get Jack?

“Why didn’t you tell me before this?”

Gabriel stalked closer, moving around Jack’s desk--Jack has to resist the urge to move away, to keep the piece of furniture between them. “Because we both know you’re too tenderhearted for this sort of plan, Jack. I needed to have everything in place before you’d agree, the way I always do.”

That...was true. Jack had a horrible tendency of giving into Gabriel if something seemed inevitable. But he couldn’t now, he couldn’t let this happen. The world deserved more than some sort of police state.

“Gabriel, I--” he began, words just enough distraction for him to grab his gun, draw it on Gabriel. 

He shot for a leg, wanting to simply stun him long enough to call in backup, but by then Gabriel was moving. They were too close and Gabriel had always been just a little bulkier, a little stronger than Jack. 

Jack dodged a blow, Gabriel’s other hand grabbed his arm with the gun, slamming it into the wall. With a cry, Jack kicked out at him, and then the fight started in earnest. 

At some point, Gabriel drew his guns. At some point, Jack just managed to hit the alarm. 

And then the wall beside them was caving in, fire licking around them. It didn’t stop them, not at first, not until the explosions started in earnest. He lost sight of Gabriel in the smoke, lost consciousness when part of the ceiling collapsed on him, and then it was all over.


End file.
